Alpha Theatrical Dance Company turns 25

The Alpha Theatrical Dance Company (ATDC) , founded by Beverley Ann Ottley in 1993, is hosting its annual dance production Dance 25 at the Naparima Bowl, San Fernando, on July 21-22. The celebration begins with a gala event, and the production promises to be exhilarating, unique and phenomenal filled with theatrical performances.

Aside from taking bold steps in dance, Ottley has also accomplished much academically. The holder of a Mass Media and Communications certificate from UWI, she joined the Alpha Theatrical Dance Company England’s Leeds University Dance School and founded the Los Ninos School of Dance, forerunner to ATDC, in 1992.

Ottley’s dancing feet having taken her worldwide, to places like New York and Oslo, Norway. With Zara Bartels, she conducted workshops at New York’s Ailey School of Dance and also attended a dance workshop at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, in Manhattan.

Completing her Bachelor of Arts Major Degree in Theatre Arts at UWI in 2010, Ottley and ATDC held the first “flash mob dance” in T&T at Gulf City, La Romaine that same year. A second was held in 2015 at the same venue.

ATDC assistant artistic director Dainelle Mc Lean said this week that the company continues to stay connected to the national community, performing for numerous charities, weddings and NGOs. It also hosts its own annual productions which involve all members of the company, with a complement of 60 students to date.